“With enough butter, anything is good.” Julia Child For decades, butter has been demonised, labelled an artery-clogger contributing to high cholesterol and obesity, and replaced with low fat spreads and margarines. An ingredient at the very heart of western cuisine for centuries, butter is one of the purest fats available, tastes ambrosial and now, rather…
Tag: food
Dealing with Diabetes: the beginning of a candid journey…week 1
I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes a little over 13 years ago and was told that after my son was born, things ‘should’ return to normal. They didn’t. This led to a long period in my life where I was in complete denial. I knew my sugars were high and made some concessions, however they…
A Virtual Monmouthshire Meander
Although the countryside is currently closed explore Monmouthshire with my gentle Monmouthshire Meander. We’re a small county with a lot to offer…and well worth waiting for. @visitmonmouthshire
Seasonal Rhubarb, Mandarin and Saffron Cake
A delicious and gluten-free treat, perfect for afternoon tea or buried in fresh custard after a hearty Sunday lunch, my rhubarb upside-down cake is enhanced with pomegranate and rosewater, saffron and sweet mandarins. Recipe: serves 8 Cake 3 medium eggs 165g butter 165g light brown sugar 1 bunch of rhubarb, leaves removed 180g self raising…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: Getting ahead with Christmas, a Duo of Sublime Stuffings
Things which are time consuming relating to the Christmas Lunch are far better done early and the advantage of a good sized freezer makes preparing for Lunch extremely simple indeed. I like to serve two stuffings. One meat, and cooked separately from the bird, and one to stuff in the neck cavity, to take on…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: The Big Festive Breakfast
I have always been a great supporter of the ‘Full English Breakfast’. It is one of the few meals that can be almost entirely locally sourced, at any time of the year. A legacy of the great Country House breakfasts which were at their height in the 19th and early 20th century, these were full…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: Down Memory Lane
Growing up in the 1980s there were so many things which ‘made’ Christmas. One of the main questions being, were your family ‘Team Quality Street’ or ‘Team Roses’? My parents were firmly ‘Team Roses’, whilst my paternal Grandmother was ‘Team Quality Street’.Of course, this was in the day when a tin of chocolates was really…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: The eternal quest for the best Hot Chocolate!
One of the annual traditions in our household is putting up the Christmas decorations on the first weekend in December – this is accompanied by lots of steaming hot chocolate and, of course, homemade gingerbread biscuits. I fully admit that I am a bit of a Hot Chocolate perfectionist. So often, when I order the…
The Pheasant Philsopher’s Christmas Diaries: Party Punch and Mulling
No Victorian Christmas party was complete without a gleaming punch bowl full of inhibition-removing deliciousness. In richer households, these bowls would be silver or silver gilt, with matching chased cups and ladle, in middle class houses cut glass or crystal was offered, whilst lower down the social pecking order china, wood or pewter was most…
The Pheasant Philosopher’s Christmas Diaries: Easy Entertaining.
I am extremely proud of my Welsh heritage and although there aren’t many exclusively ‘Welsh’ traditions, we do have some excellent recipes to satisfy the hungriest of guests over the Christmas period. Feeding a party is quite a challenge, but sometimes, especially in the colder weather it’s nice to offer guests something a little more…
Seasoned with Slow from The Pheasant Philosopher 